Washington state has canceled the driver's license of a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who publicly said he is an illegal immigrant.

Department of Licensing spokeswoman Christine Anthony says officials opened an investigation after Jose Antonio Vargas' essay about his background was published in the New York Times Magazine. He wrote that he obtained a driver's license in Washington.

Anthony says an investigation concluded Vargas wasn't residing at the address he provided to the Licensing Department. The agency sent Vargas a letter requesting proof of residency, and the letter was returned.